Report Housing Fraud

If you suspect someone is committing housing fraud or is in breach of their tenancy you can report it here in the strictest confidence.

Tackling Housing Fraud Campaign

There isn't enough social housing to meet the needs of the people who genuinely need it. We have to make the best use of the housing stock that is available and make sure it is occupied by those who are legally entitled to do so. People waiting for social housing will have to wait even longer if homes continue to be occupied by people who have no right to be there.

Recent government legislation gives us greater powers to investigate housing fraud and greater sentences for housing fraud offenders which can result in a criminal record and/or a prison sentence.

If you suspect that someone is committing housing fraud, or has committed housing fraud in the past, we want to know about it.

There are several types of housing fraud

Subletting - this is when a tenant leaves their property and allows another person to move in, often paying rent to the original tenant far above what the council would charge

Abandonment - when a tenant leaves their property without telling us, for example when a person moves in with a new partner but keeps their council tenancy as a safety net or simply for as place to store their belongings

Fraudulent applications for social housing, right-to-buy, mutual exchanges, assignments of tenancies - sometimes people manage to obtain a council property by giving false information when making their application. Mutual exchanges and assignments must be approved by the landlord if the tenants have not requested their landlord's permission it may be because they do not wish them to know about their circumstances.

Retaining a property after a tenant dies - this is where someone tries to succeed a tenancy after the tenant's death when they are not eligible. This usually involves claiming to have lived with the deceased tenant before their death, when in fact they have lived elsewhere.